For a long time, Paul Auster's novels were much more popular in France than in America. Perhaps this is because he sounds more convincing in French. 'Ecrivain de la mégapole, de l'errance et du hasard, Paul Auster est devenu un auteur culte,' one Parisian blurb-artist writes, catching the appeal in a way that his English-speaking counterparts find difficult. Auster's fiction mixes metropolitan cool with stylish intellectualism - a combination no less enjoyable for the distinct whiff of bullshit it gives off.

LRB 18 March 2004 | PDF Download